Controlling a Robot With the Emotiv EEG Headset 33
robotsrule writes "This video shows a WowWee Rovio mobile spy robot being piloted remotely over a Skype video call using thought, facial gestures, and head movements, with the help of the Emotiv Systems EPOC 14-electrode EEG headset with built-in gyroscope. An accompanying article explains in detail how the system works and what steps were taken with the Emotiv systems SDK to interface with the EPOC headset along with code samples. The system is based on Robodance 5, a free robot control program for consumer robot owners that will be out in beta on May 20, 2010."
hardly EEG (Score:4, Informative)
Almost all of the degrees of freedom come from head motion and muscle artifact. EEG is very sensitive to facial muscle artifacts, and when you actually record EEG the patients have to keep very still. I've even read of EEG/TMS studies where they use botox to paralyze the scalp muscle. So every time he clenches his jaw, he obliterates the EEG signal over the frontal cortices (the part he is supposedly recording). Basically this whole apparatus is just a fancy, commercial electromyogram (EMG). You can build an EMG with off-the-shelf electronic pieces (i.e. resistors and capicitors) for probably around $10. There's essentially no EEG involved here, except making a headline. Using EMG to control a robot is done every semester in hundreds of undergraduate electronics classes.